This page contains information for either current, past, or potential clients. Important Note: Nothing contained here is intended to be legal advice and you should not rely on any of it as such. The only person qualified to provide you with legal advice specific to your case is an attorney you hire or a public defender appointed by the court to represent you.

Requesting a Public Defender

Public defenders can only be requested in court. If you have been charged with a crime and have an upcoming court date, you must wait for this court date before you can be appointed a public defender. At that time, the court will have you fill out paperwork to make sure you are financially qualified for a public defender. See the Who Can Get a Public Defender page for detailed information on who qualifies for a public defender.

Frequently Asked Questions.

Have questions? Get them answered quick. A list of our most frequently asked questions, together with answers, is on our FAQ list.

Contacting Your Public Defender

If you need your public defender's phone number or email address, please access our online public defender directory. If you do not know who your public defender is call our office at (509) 222-3700 and someone will be able to help you.

Finding Your Next Court Date

The best and safest way to get or confirm your next court date is by calling your public defender's office. If you can't do that, you can try to look up your court date using the State Court's Find My Court Date Tool.

Getting a New Public Defender

Except in circumstances where your public defender has a legitimate conflict of interest in representing you (eg if they are friends with your accuser, also represent your co-defendant, or represent a witness against you for example) you may not request a public defender simply because you don't like him or her. Regardless of your circumstance, the court that appointed you a public defender is the only one who can decide to appoint you a new public defender. If you feel like your situation warrants a new public defender, you will have to bring up the issue the next time you are in court.